The Good: Bryan Reynolds, LF PITT
Bryan Reynolds has 5 home runs (HR) and 17 runs batted in (RBI), which rank him in the top 5 in both Fantasy Baseball categories so far this year. Reynolds has hits in his last four games and will likely add to his Fantasy Baseball statistics over the next few days as he faces the Colorado Rockies in Denver – a ballpark known to benefit hitters.
Reynolds has batted for an average of .324, and Fantasy Baseball managers should expect Reynolds to hover around .300 all season – especially with the way Reynolds has looked early on. Reynolds is on a lowly Pirates team which may limit his offensive upside in the long run, but the Pirates have been competitive in every series and will look to try to keep things trending upwards for as long as they can.
The Bad: Blake Snell, P SD
Blake Snell is off to yet another poor start to his season. The Padres pitcher has followed a pattern over the last few seasons where he has performed abysmally to begin the season, but settles in and throws the lights out on teams late in the season.
The Padres pitcher, to managers’ dismay, has again found himself in a statistical hole to start his season. Snell has a 6.92 earned run average (ERA), a 2.15 walks and hits per innings pitched (WHIP), 10 walks, and 16 strikeouts – all in 13 innings pitched.
Fantasy owners likely paid a premium to get Snell and will have to ride out the storm until he finds his groove. Until then, however, it might best suit managers to find a replacement option, as Snell might actually be hurting your team if you start him with how poorly he is playing.
The Ugly: Alek Manoah, P TOR
Alek Manoah has started in four games for the Toronto Blue Jays, and only one of which has yielded acceptable results. Manoah, who finished third in Cy Young voting last season, has had a tough go at it this Fantasy Baseball season.
Through 19.1 innings pitched Manoah has produced a 6.98 earned run average (ERA), a 1.97 walks and hits per innings pitched (WHIP), 15 walks, and 16 strikeouts. Fantasy owners were surely hoping for a better start out of Manoah, who notably ended the Fantasy Baseball 2022 season on fire.
Fantasy Baseball Managers will need to ride the wave out with Manoah, as they probably don’t have much better pitching options with how highly valued Manoah was in fantasy drafts this preseason.
